But hes a recognizable customer, and several other diners came up to tell Rulon they were fans or he was an inspiration as they passed by his table on their way to and from the buffet. After the 2000 Olympics he suffered a series of injuries from both a snowmobiling and motorcycle accident. Rulons ascendance was a once-in-a-generation confluence of natural strength, work ethic and a burning desire to get off the farm. They share a big hug and run into the tunnel, into the basement level of the arena, to go celebrate. My mom said, Is this the kid that I raised? In January 2011, he was announced as a contestant on season 11 of the American reality television show, The Biggest Loser. Now, his dark gray, short-sleeve button-down shirt dangles over his belly and hangs out in front of him, unlike the singlets that cling to his body in both the poster and on the book cover. Rulon stretches constantly, and likes to lean against railings to relieve the pressure. The intervening years for Gardner have been more down than up, unlike his weight: an Olympic bronze medal in 2004; retirement; divorce and marriage to his third wife; trouble financing a gym;. Its one in a long line of injuries he has battled throughout his life. For more information: RyanThorburn.com. Despite sealing victory and a healthy paycheck as the underdog, Gardner decided to finish his MMA career then and there, as the sport didnt carry the same honour for him as wrestling. In that first match, Karelin slammed Gardner on his face three times and even flipped him feet-first over his head in a violent maneuver that had Gardner's wife, Stacy, fearing for her husband's life. The living room, in a more modest home than the crowded driveway might suggest, is full of reminders that hes lived a charmed life of celebrity. His two lightweights are both eliminated on Day 1 but the two heavier weights, Talmage Carman and Traycee Norman, win two matches apiece. But he also knows he cant risk pushing them away. Gus, his 14-year-old Shih Tzu, sits on his left shoulder, staring out through the cracked windshield at the cars ahead. John Daley Reporting Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner heads to Boston today for a speaking engagement with a new story of survival to tell. Im the eye candy, Rulon jokes. It sounds like a script the Rocky IV writers came up with: An invincible Goliath from Siberia nicknamed "The Experiment" arrives at the Olympic Village packing a 13-year winning streak. He walks around the perimeter of the room, shoes off, thick white socks resting below his tree-trunk calves, and watches his kids spar. [2] Karelin was previously unbeaten for 13 years in international competition. He isnt supposed to talk about it. "I'd be in the OR and I'd have 12 sets of different instruments. Its an interesting twist, being both the new guy and the celebrity. Hes dealing with coaches, parents andfor the first time this yearcollege recruiters. "Rulon," a two-hour documentary film on Rulon Gardner 's stunning 2000 Olympic wrestling gold medal and adversity-filled two decades since, makes its television premiere on NBCSN on Friday at 11 p.m. He has appeared at corporate events, celebrity golf tournaments, trade shows, and conventions. Because Rulon Gardner isnt a quitter. Speaking to TMZ, he said: "I still wanna give more back to the sport, the sport that I love, and that's wrestling. Gardner, 43, said the bankruptcy has been difficult to go through, but it has . Gardner decided to pursue his Olympic dreams instead, but a staph infection prevented him from going to the 1996 Games in Atlanta, where Karelin barely broke a sweat in winning his third gold medal. My wife [who has experience as a fitness and weight-loss instructor], she . Earning back all the goodwill his initial rise to fame afforded him. Its sour, but its still candy. Rulon asks the client to share some of his corporate financial goals, and Lydia gives the pitch about what services they can offer. In doing so, he immediately captured the admiration of Americans, winning the gold medal in one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. And that's wrong., He offers one last sobering thought on his size: I realize, in the next 10 years, if I dont change, I wont be here. However, she divorced him when he became involved with his first pluralist wife. He believes NBC wanted to make him look like the Olympic brat. He says trainers would do things like give him too short a jump rope or put a massive weight plate on his back while he was planking. Not on the TV show. Gardner's snowmobile wreck made a lasting impression on him: He reflects on it frequently, and it has cost him feeling in his feet. But theres also a football signed by John Elway, Steve Young, Warren Moon and some smudged names that are harder to make out. These are always fun crowds, Gardner says quietly. Rulon participated in this from six years old until he started junior high school at 12 years old. He is the son of Reed and Virginia Gardner and the last of nine children. Wrestlers are seeded into 16-man brackets in 14 weight classes, and each round of the tournament starts with the lightest weights and progresses on upward to Rulons old division. 2 Recreation Board, Indigenous People in Wyoming and the West, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/brian_cazeneuve/04/26/Rulon-Gardner-Olympic-bid/index.html, http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnclarke/2012/09/19/after-amputation-motorcycle-accident-and-plane-crash-olympic-gold-medal-wrestler-rulon-gardner-now-faces-bankruptcy/, http://www.usawct.org/news/2002_2003/RulonGardner.htm, http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765613285/Bankruptcy-trustee-postpones-Rulon-Gardner-auction-reconsidering-what-possessions-he-will-keep.html?pg=all, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997892,00.html, http://elkodaily.com/sports/a-golden-opportunity-olympic-gold-medalist-rulon-gardner-visits-elko/article_d08e7a52-3dc1-11e2-9ffd-0019bb2963f4.html, http://www.gazette.com/articles/gardner-142117-byers-sometimes.html, http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=moments/89, http://www.whsaa.org/archives/wrestling/1989/1989.asp, Green River Historic Preservation Commission, Natrona County Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Natrona County Recreation Joint Powers Board, Sublette County Historical Preservation Board, University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, Cazeneuve, Brian. For many high school wrestlers, this will be the pinnacle of their athletic careers, and the moment is treated with that gravity. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. Consider those client recruitment days anyway, with Coach Rulon happily passing along his fliers to a steady stream of coaches, parents, tournament officials and others eager to chat him up between matches. Byers seeks to escape Rulon Gardner's long shadow., Weinberg, Rick. Today, Gardner has taken the lessons learnt and built a new life for himself. He paid her $24K for the first six months, then $36K for the next three, about a quarter million total. He is famous for being a Wrestler. After falling into the river four times, Rulon was unable to move any farther and he decided to build a shelter and wait for a rescue team. In the second period, Karelin quickly put his prey in a lock that opponents rarely escaped from. Rulon tipped the scale at 474 pounds at the onset of the show, up more than 200 from the 265-pound division in which he competed at the 2004 Olympics. The Olympics arent this strict, he says, shaking his head. Options: Reply Quote Posted by: PtLoma ( ) Date: April 29, 2011 05:50PM The Olympic Channel original film will premiere digitally on Friday, 2 April 2021 on OlympicChannel.com and the official Olympic Channel apps for mobile and connected TV devices. He nearly died of hypothermia after suffering in the elements for 17 hours. During his efforts to regain his composure and regroup, he fell into the freezing Salt River with his snowmobile. Aside from his Olympic medals, his achievements include: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Due to the physical damage, a saw had to be used to remove his boots. Thats good news. He remained stranded for 18 hours. Knowing that he's the guy that's in the practice room every day that I get to learn from it's an amazing experience to have him in my corner.. The former Olympic champion said he lost 150 pounds, with his ultimate goal being making it back to the Olympics.. Rulon came back to the Olympics in 2004 to defend his title and took home the Bronze medal. She was the daughter of the apostle of the LDS church. She also appreciated his respect for her as a woman, saying it can sometimes be tough for her to earn the trust and respect of male clients, but that wasnt the case with Rulon. Most famously, Gardner spent a February 2002 night in the wilderness after his snowmobile overturned and dunked him into an icy river multiple times. Karelin at the time had not had a point scored on him in 6 years and . And whos seen more accidents than Rulon Gardner? Nationality . Myself, right now, my biggest thing is my weight. Gardner won a bronze medal at the 2004 Games. A good friend of Rulons had a nephew whose son wrestled at Herriman, so Gardner came to a practice and offered to help a local club team. Gardner defeated Russia's renowned wrestler and three-time Olympic gold medalist, Alexander Karelin. He got married in October 2020, has lost around 50lbs (22.5kg) in weight, and recently moved to St. George, Utah, where he hopes to start a youth wrestling training centre. That was all it took to change Rulon Gardner's life, for better or worse one nine-minute wrestling match against a legendary Russian, and here he is, almost seven years later, still riding the wave of his Olympic triumph in Sydney. The Herriman High wrestling room has one regulation-sized circle, and the dark blue mat extends out to light blue padded walls. Traycee was a heavyweight last season, before cutting down to 220 this year. They dont need him there. Rulon Ellis Gardner (born August 16, 1971) is an American retired Greco-Roman Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler. The men swam an hour in 44F (7C) water to reach shore, and then spent the night without shelter. The memories and Sharpie ink fade with time. Updated: 6:17 ET, Jul 19 2021 FORMER OLYMPIC star Rulon Gardner opened up over hitting rock-bottom that included spiralling debts of 3million. But I got the point.". "I wanted to be a coach. Gardner achieved world notoriety in 2000 when he stunned Russian Greco-Roman legend Alexander Karelin to win the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics. But hes been working with a new trainer and says hes dropped almost 40 pounds since late last winter when the high school wrestling season ended. He was the first contestant to ever quit the NBC reality TV . Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? You want me to do a clinic for free? The show has faced plenty of controversy over the years (including criticisms of the weight-loss methods and their lasting effects, famed trainer Jillian Michaels giving her team caffeine pills and allegations of contestants taking weight-loss pills) and Rulon says former contestants are divided into two camps. And Rulon is thrust into the same conversation hes had with countless strangers over the last 20 years. If I turn my mind on and do it, I'll do it. The arena staff rolls up six mats, leaving two in the center of the gym, one for the 5A championships and one for 6A. After the speech he heads back to the hallway and opens one of his suitcases, which is stuffed with copies of his book and posters from the old Got Milk? ad campaign that show him holding two full pails in front of a dairy cow. One of his lightweights catches an elbow in the wrong spot and blood pours from his nose, seeping into his warm-up shirt and splattering on the crowded mat. Then they both win and advance. In 2002, Gardner went snowmobiling with some friends in the mountains surrounding Star Valley, Wyoming. Not sure how to react to his amazing triumph, Gardner did a cartwheel, a somersault and then a victory lap wrapped in the Stars & Stripes. Rulons experience with The Biggest Loser started just like every other contestants. In 2012, after trimming down on the show, Gardner mounted a comeback attempt for the London Olympics, eight years after medaling in Athens. Rulon is now a dynamic speaker and coach who shares his stories of triumph and loss to motivate and encourage others to fight for their dreams. They dim the lights and extend the lower level of the bleachers, with extra rows of yellow seats now closer to the action. Photo courtesy Olympic Channel. 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